You have a smart owl there, Harry
by rojekera
Summary: How Hedwig made a difference to Harry's fourth year.


I am not JKR, the owner of the Harry Potter characters

It was the morning of September 2, 1994 and Hermione was upset. She was still thinking of how that Ministry official, Mr. Crouch had treated his elf.

She decided that she would write to him, expressing her displeasure at his actions. Putting action to thought, she pulled out parchment, quill and ink, at the breakfast table, and wrote a letter. Just as she finished, Hedwig flew down to share Harry's breakfast. Hermione asked Harry if she could use Hedwig to take a letter to Barty Crouch, Harry looked at Hedwig, getting her approval before he told Hermione okay. Hermione tied the letter to Hedwig's foot and told her, when you are finished eating, please take this letter to Barty Crouch. Hedwig looked at her and flew to the Head table, landing in front of the scarred DADA teacher.

Hagrid, who was seated next to Moody, looked at Hedwig, looked at Harry and called out to Harry

"Any reason you sent your owl to deliver a note that you could have walked over and dropped off yourself"

Harry looked at Hermione who sighed and walked up to the staff table while responding to Hagrid

"Sorry Professor Moody, Hedwig was asked to take this note to Mr. Crouch, I do not know why she went to you"

Hagrid looked again at Hedwig, reached out as if to pick her up, and swung his hand instead to knock out Professor Moody.

Everyone in the Hall went silent and looked at Hagrid in shock. Hagrid however ignored all the stares and spoke to Harry

"That is a smart bird you have there, if she went to this man, it is because she knows he is Mr. Crouch, so we will investigate it, without him casting any spells in a room full of children"

As the Headmaster had not yet arrived for breakfast, Professor McGonagall was the most senior member of staff present. She was about to remonstrate with Hagrid for assaulting a fellow teacher, but after listening to him, she drew her wand and cast "Finite incantatem" at Professor Moody's body. Nothing happened. She cast again, stronger this time, still nothing happened.

She paused and looked at him carefully. Hermione, remembering her second year activities, asked quietly, "Polyjuice?"

The teachers looked at the body, and Snape reached into the robes and pulled out the flask that Moody regularly drank from. He poured a small amount into an empty goblet, and nodded to McGonagall, after sniffing it. "It is polyjuice" he said.

Professor Flitwick got up and started to move away, telling the other teachers that he was going to contact the aurors and the Headmaster.

By the time he returned twenty minutes later, with the aurors, the Headmaster had already arrived and a young man was tied up where Moody's body was previously lying. He recognised the person as Barty Crouch junior.

The aurors immediately arrested him, and over the Headmasters objections, took him back to the Ministry for questioning. There, in the presence of Madame Bones, the Head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement (DMLE), his whole sordid tale came out.

Before the night was out, his father was quietly arrested and his questioning confirmed his son's statements. The father and mother had broken the son out of prison, and the father had kept him hidden at home, using one of the Unforgivables.

The next morning there was a raid on the Riddle Manor at dawn. Anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards were set up to prevent Pettigrew and Voldemort from escaping. To ensure Pettigrew was caught, a dozen cats were also brought along. The house was stormed and in the melee, the snake was killed. This distracted the baby Voldemort, enabling him to be stunned. Pettigrew attempted to change and run, but a cat bit his tail, and the pain caused him to revert, upon which he was promptly stunned.

After another round of questioning, Madane Bones sent a letter asking Harry and Hermione to come to the Ministry. Dumbledore wanted to object, but could find no reason to, as the invitation was sent directly to Harry, with an addendum stating that Pettigrew had been caught and questioned. Dumbledore however insisted on accompanying him. Madame Bones responded that there would be independent adult supervision for Harry, as Hermione's parents were coming also. Dumbledore was however invited to preside over four trials.

The first trial was Crouch junior, who was charged with escaping prison and impersonating another, along with stealing a wand (Harry's at the Quidditch World Cup) He was found guilty on all counts.

The second trial was Crouch Senior. Charged with aiding and abetting an escape and use of an Unforgivable. He was also found guilty.

The third trial was Pettigrew, charged with accessory to murder (the adult Potters, Bertha Jorkins and the Riddle watchman), twelve murders, the gas explosion, and aiding and abetting a wanted felon, Voldemort. This last charge had everyone concerned, but Madam Bones stated that all would be made clear. As the trial proceeded, she stated that Pettigrew was found with a deformed child who insisted that it was Voldemort, and that this child was capable of casting magic with a wand. When confronted, the child had cast an unforgivable, a killing curse, and as a result had been terminated. Whether the child was actually Voldemort was very doubtful, however Pettigrew was convinced that it was, amd had still assisted the child. As such, since Pettigrew was convinced he was aiding Voldemort, and had committed crimes whilst doing so, he was charged with aiding Voldemort. After listening to arguments from Pettigrew's attorney, the last charge was dropped, but Pettigrew was convicted of all the other charges.

The last trial, was held in absentia for Sirius Black, as the crimes he was held for were now acknowledged to have been committed by another, the trial was simply to proclaim his innocence and lift the "kiss on sight" order.

After the trial, Madame Bones invited Harry, Hermione and her parents to a private meeting. There she asked them to sign a secrecy agreement, with the adult Grangers agreeing to be obliviated of the details after the meeting, with the memories to be restored within a year. After some fussing, all agreed to the terms. Bones then told them that the "child" was indeed Voldemort, he was still alive, but was being questioned under a truth serum as to why he had not died. The statements in the Court were to throw off his supporters from making any attempt to free him.

Why Harry was called in, was because the first statement from Voldemort concerned using Crouch junior to enter Harry in the TriWizard tournament, and eventually kidnap him for use in a ritual to restore Voldemort's adult body. Harry was important to Voldemort, because there was a prophecy connecting him and Harry.

Bones wanted Harry to listen to it, as it may affect how they dealt with the construct. With the others staying in the office, Harry was led to the Prophecy room to listen to the prophecy. After talking to the others about the prophecy, they eventually decided that the simplest solution was to find out why Voldemort had not died, then dose him with Draught of Living Death and store him safely. Once his rituals could be canceled, Harry could then toss him thru the veil of death, which was explained to the others by Bones. The DMLE Head also promised to keep Harry appraised of their progress in reversing the rituals.

The next day, Bones visited Hogwarts and told Dumbledore of Crouch's plan, leaving out the Voldemort ritual. She asked him to change the procedure so that all entries be made under the supervision of the Headmasters, who would verify that the names entered matched the student bringing the name. This was done to ensure that no person was unwillingly entered in the tournament.

October 31, came and went, and for the first time at Hogwarts Harry had a stress free day.

By Christmas, Madame Bones came to tell Harry of her progress, she had good news. They found one in Gringotts, one in Hogwarts, one in the old Gaunt home near the Riddle house, and the last, not where Voldemort had left it, but in the Black house, where it had been taken after Sirius's brother and the family elf had stolen it, in order to destroy it, All had been destroyed. It was now up to Harry. Harry thought of the Riddle shade in the Chamber and how Pettigrew having escaped death had not run, but gone immediately to Voldemort and caused two more deaths. He agreed to go with Madame Bones and push the construct through the veil.

He had already dropped Divinations, and taken up Ancient Runes, because after realising that a fraud like Trelawney could have uttered the words which had caused his parents deaths, he wanted nothing more with that class. He had met a blond Ravenclaw in the third year Rune's class he was taking, and after he was blanked by Hermione for the Yule Ball, he had invited her to go with him. He intended that with an end to Voldemort, he was going to live life to the full.

AN

This story is on the assumption that Harry is not a Horcrux, Voldemort's memory, as shown in the Deathly Hallows, states that he entered, killed James, talked with Lily, killed her and then immediately tried and failed to kill Harry. There was no ritual to make a Horcrux. If none were needed, then when he killed Bertha or the Riddle watchman, Peter should have been made one also. Far less when he lost his temper upon hearing of Harry's stealing the cup from Belatrix's vault at Gringott's. Although not specifically stated in the books, it was implied that he killed persons then.


End file.
